ZIP 97838 vs ZIP 97801

This side-by-side compares ZIP 97838 (Hermiston, OR) and ZIP 97801 (Pendleton, OR) using the same Census ACS 5-Year table fields for both — no averages swapped in, no national proxies. ZIP 97838 has a population of 25,346 at 60 people per square mile, while ZIP 97801 has 21,521 at 17 per square mile. That difference in population size and density alone reshapes how every other metric should be interpreted — a higher-income ZIP with 1,200 residents behaves very differently from one with 45,000.

On income and education, ZIP 97838 reports a median household income of $69,599 against $71,639 in ZIP 97801, with per-capita income of $33,369 vs $32,826. The share of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher is 16.4% in 97838 and 24.9% in 97801. Poverty rate reads 10.1% vs 14.7%, and unemployment 5.1% vs 5.2% — these four fields alone drive most of the difference in the scorecard grades you will see for each ZIP.

Housing separates these two ZIPs further: median home value sits at $306,500 in 97838 versus $293,000 in 97801, with median rent of $1,107 and $937 per month respectively. Homeownership rate is 71.2% vs 60.7%. When reading the comparison table below, focus on paired metrics rather than single winners — a ZIP with lower home values and lower income is not strictly "worse" if rent-to-income ratios and commute times land in the same zone. Every value is pulled from the exact same ACS table so the two columns are genuinely comparable.